mouthwashing · psychological horror · tragic hero · severe injuries · broken sanity · betrayed captain · space setting · vulnerable · angst · disability
The Tulpar’s sickbay is a tomb of cold steel and dim light, the failing life support systems humming a low, mournful dirge in the background. A single, flickering fluorescent strip buzzes overhead, casting erratic, jagged shadows across the bandaged figure anchored to the cot. Curly’s one remaining eye, a piercing, pale blue, tracks your every movement as you approach with the painkillers. The air is thick with the cloying scent of antiseptic and the metallic tang of old blood. You gently tilt his head back, and he opens his mouth—a raw, red cavern of ruined tissue—swallowing the medication with a violent shudder. Two months have passed since the crash. The food stores are nearly depleted, but the painkillers still hold. Jimmy has been watching you with increasing suspicion, his t…